The Quarterback: Breaking the News
by Klaine-Rulz
Summary: Takes place before the Quarterback episode. Burt breaks the news to Kurt, Rachel, and Santana. How the three get back to Lima. Mostly Kurt focused with lots of comforting Blaine. Pezberry friendship, KLAINE and mentions of Burt/Carol. Rated T for character death and sad themes.


**Author's Note**

**This one was a hard one for me to write. Sorry if it doesn't live up to expectations. (Klaine is just too awesome)!**

**This takes place before the episode, when the news breaks out. I loved how the writers addressed Cory's death, but it would have been nice to see the funeral and some more Klaine interaction.**

Breaking the News

It was a seemingly typical day at the Bushwick apartment. Santana was reading a magazine and filing her nails on the couch, Rachel was at a late night rehearsal for Funny Girl, and Kurt was taking a homework break to wash the dishes they let pile up for a week. Kurt was busy rinsing a particularly dirty cup while humming along to a Beatles song when he heard Santana yelling at him.

"Hey Hummel, I think Bowties has his undies in a bunch! Your phone has been ringing non stop for at least twenty minutes!"

Kurt set down the soapy cup and grabbed a rag to dry off his hands. He rolled his eyes and walked over to his make shift bedroom to grab his iPhone off the charger.

_24 missed calls_

Kurt was stunned. They weren't just from Blaine, but from his dad as well; 19 from his dad to be more exact. The first call was from his dad, about an hour or so ago. They continued about every couple of minutes, and then stopped. After, Blaine called him five times.

Worry settled in his chest. He never gets this many calls from his dad at once. After all, his dad was simple. He would usually call once or twice and then just wait for Kurt to respond on his own. He took his phone and walked back into the main living room.

He decided to call his dad first, after all, he knew his dad probably called Blaine after he wasn't responding. It only took one ring for his dad to answer.

"Kurt?" His dad sounded panicked and relieved all at the same time.

"Hey Dad. Santana said my phone was ringing. I wasn't in the room, so I didn't hear it."

"That's fine bud." Burt sounded stressed.

"Dad. That's you're "I'm-stressed-and-don't-want-anyone-to-worry voice. What's going on? Is that why Blaine called too?" Kurt voice was getting higher as his panic rose with it.

"Kurt, I really don't want to tell you this over the phone. I-" His dad choked off. He was going to cry, Kurt could tell.

"Bud, something happened. Something bad. You-you gotta come back to Lima."

"Dad… what's wrong." Kurt choked out. Santana looked up at Kurt at the sound of his voice.

"It's your brother. He got hit…err… got into an accident, a bad one. He-he didn't make it."

Kurt's heart stopped. He couldn't breath. He couldn't see or hear anything. He heard a muffled voice on the other end of the phone before it dropped out of his hand and shattered on the hard wood floor. His knees gave out and he heard Santana talking to him. He couldn't move or say anything. He couldn't breath.

"No…"

The phone was long forgotten. It lay, broken on the floor three feet away. Santana dropped to Kurt's eye level and grabbed her friend's shoulders. She was talking, but no sounds were making it to Kurt's ears. All he could hear was his heartbeat thumping against his skull.

"No… No. No. No. Not him. Anybody but him."

"Who? Kurt Hummel, you answer me right now. What's going on? Kurt! Answer me!" 

"Finn… No!"

Kurt pushed her hands away and held his head in his hands. She took the hint and picked up the phone from the floor with a grimace.

"Mr. Hummel? What's going on? Kurt's not…"

"Santana. I booked a ten o'clock flight to Columbus for the three of you. You need to packed quickly and get Rachel and Kurt with you. If you leave in an about an hour and a half, you'll be able to make it. I emailed Kurt the boarding passes and all you need is your I.D.'s and those passes."

"Woah, hold up. Why are we going back to Ohio? Who died?" Santana had a bite to her voice, but it was a voice laced with worry and confusion.

"Finn."

Santana gasped. She was stunned. Pain erupted in her chest and she clicked into survival mode. She stood up tall and looked straight ahead.

"Ok. Mr. H. I'll pick up Rachel and get Kurt to pack our bags. I'll call you when we're in the airport."

"Thank you. I wanted to drive out… but I can't leave Carole. I'm- I'm _so sorry_ you had to hear it like this." Burt was crying, she could tell. Her eyes watered picturing the bald man in her head.

"Oh, and one other thing, the Berry's have been called. They'll be there to get you and Rachel. Blaine is going to take Kurt home to Carole and me. I need to stay here with Carole at the hospital."

A single tear went down Santana's face. She said her goodbyes to Burt and hung up the phone as best as she could with the broken glass.

She knelt down to Kurt and grabbed him again.

"Kurt. You have to pack bags for you, Rachel, and me. You think you can do that while I get her from rehearsal?"

To Santana's surprise, Kurt responded right away. To her horror, he looked back up at her with numbness in his pale blue eyes. He nodded his head limply and picked himself up off the floor and went into his bedroom to pack. 40 minutes, three suitcases, and three fresh boarding passes later, Santana and Rachel staggered through the door. Rachel was an absolute mess. Her makeup was running and she was just sobbing while holding onto Santana. Santana looked tired and sad, but held it together for her friend. She looked up at Kurt and they all grabbed their suitcases and left. Santana had kept the cab waiting outside and they were at the airport in no time at all. They went through security quickly and were on the plane in a matter of an hour.

Rachel didn't stop crying the whole time and Santana kept her under her arm for almost all of it. The stewardesses were very sympathetic and they offered to get them something to eat, even though it was such a short flight. Kurt never looked up once. His face was stone cold and ashy gray. He was numb to the world and hadn't said a word since the phone call. He just sat in his seat and closed his eyes. He was grateful for Santana's strong presence. He loved Rachel, but he couldn't deal with her crying right now. He just needed to go home to what was left of his broken family and broken life. He couldn't think about what was going to happen in the next couple of days.

When they touched down, Kurt let out a breath. He was so close to home. He needed to get off of this plane and get away from all the sobbing. He needed quiet and warmth. He needed his home and his family. They got out of the gate and were left in a daze. They didn't know where to go, until they heard someone calling their names. It was the Berry's. Rachel broke from Santana's arms and ran into her dads'. Santana followed quickly behind her while Kurt looked dazed for another moment before slowly walking in their direction. Then he heard his name. He turned around to see his fiancé looking at him with such a sad, yet loving expression on his face.

Kurt's eyes watered and he let out a small choking sound. He fell into his fiancé's arms and buried his nose into Blaine's neck. He took a deep breath and tried to keep the sudden burst of emotions from exploding out for all to see. Blaine wasn't sure how long he held him, but when they separated, the Berry's were about to leave with the girls. Leroy gave Blaine a nod and they departed without the two boys. Blaine took Kurt's bag and led him out of the airport gently. They got into Blaine's car and drove back to the Hummel household quietly. Kurt held his legs close to his chest the whole ride back.

When they parked in the driveway, Kurt looked up at Blaine with shining, crystal blue eyes.

"Do you want me to walk you up to the door?" Blaine asked gingerly.

"Please don't go," Kurt whimpered quietly.

"I won't if you don't want me to" Blaine answered sincerely.

"I don't. I never do." Kurt whispered.

Blaine nodded, turned off the car, and got out quickly. He ran around to Kurt's door before the pail boy could even unlock his legs. Kurt unbuckled his seatbelt and shakily got out of the car. Kurt wobbled and Blaine wrapped a secure arm around Kurt's waist as they walked up to the front door. The door opened for them before they made it up the porch stares. A very red-faced, tear stained Burt Hummel opened the door and pulled his son inside, clinging to him like any scared father would. Blaine felt like he was intruding on family time by standing there on the side. But when Burt let go of his son, he pulled Blaine into a firm hug as well.

"Thank you for picking him up." Burt said as he pulled Blaine away at an arm's distance.

"Any time, Sir" Blaine said sincerely.

"You're marrying my son, kid. It's Burt."

Blaine smiled weakly. Burt looked at the two of them and sighed deeply.

"I gain a new son, then a week later I loose one. Life's just too unfair." Burt choked out, eyes brimming with tears.

Kurt and Blaine's eyes both filled with tears and they decided to stay silent, not knowing what to say to something so powerfully sad. Burt looked at the two of them hard. He knew the grief was going to overtake him, so he changed the subject.

"You bring any luggage with ya?"

Kurt looked confused, then nodded. Blaine spoke up for his fiancé.

"It's in my car."

Blaine moved to go and get it but Burt stopped him.

"I got it. Why don't you take Kurt into the kitchen to get something in his stomach? It's really late and I doubt he had anything for dinner."

Blaine nodded and took Kurt's cold hand in his. Burt clapped him on the shoulder and headed out the door to Blaine's car.

Blaine and Kurt molded back into that easy chemistry they had before the break up. Blaine led Kurt to the kitchen and automatically began to make him something to eat. He ended up fixing him a sandwich and some fruit and Kurt ate it wordlessly in a matter of minutes, not bothering to taste the food. He wasn't hungry in the slightest, but he knew Blaine and his dad wanted him to eat something, so he did it for them. By the time he was nearly done, Burt had brought the suitcase up to his room and walked into the kitchen. The three of them sat quietly at the table as Kurt finished.

Kurt was the first to break the silence.

"I'm going to use the bathroom. The airport ones are atrocious."

Blaine and Burt both lightly smiled at the small sign of Kurt's witty personality poking through the grief. Kurt stood up, put the plate in the sink, and walked out of the room. Blaine looked up when he heard Burt awkwardly clear his voice.

"You know, you can stay for the night if you want. I think it would be good for Kurt."

Blaine smiled. "Thank you, Sir"

"You can... ahem… stay in Kurt's room. I know that you wouldn't… given the circumstance… and… yeah… plus you're going to marry him, so…" Burt trickled off, looking awkward as ever and Blaine nodded politely.

"No worries, Sir. I understand what you mean."

Burt stood up and clapped him on the shoulder again. He walked out of the room only to return again.

"It's Burt, kid"

Blaine smiled back and Burt left the room. A couple minutes later, Kurt came into the kitchen and sat down by Blaine.

"Your dad said I could spend the night with you, if you want me to stay, that is." Blaine said gingerly.

Kurt locked eyes with his fiancé and smiled for the first time that night.

"I always want you to stay with me Blaine"

Blaine mirrored his smile and stood up from his chair with a sigh. He looked down at Kurt with sad, comforting eyes and held out his hands to help him stand. Kurt took Blaine's hands and was smoothly pulled out of his seat and into a hug. They held each other for what seemed like forever. No tears, no words, and no sounds. Then, they made their way up to Kurt's bedroom and got ready for bed.

Blaine held Kurt to his chest that night. He lay on his back while Kurt had his hand on his chest and his nose buried in Blaine's neck. Kurt didn't want to be thought of as weak and sappy, a lesson he would soon learn was pointless in times of grief. He held his emotions together, silently breathing until he thought Blaine had fallen asleep; then, he let it go. He cried out all the good and bad memories. All the family moments and brotherly bonding memories washed over Kurt's mind like a painful tidal wave.

Blaine knew that Kurt was keeping everything inside and he decided he was going to wait for Kurt to fall asleep, just in case he needed Blaine. As they lay in silence, Blaine held Kurt close and let himself drift off. When Blaine was just about to nod off, he felt tears streaming on his neck, followed by heavy breathing, then gasps, then choking, shaking sobs. He instinctively pulled Kurt closer to his chest and slowly rocked him back and forth. That night, he let Kurt sob into his chest and he held him all though the morning. He never let go of Kurt, murmuring words of promise and love. _I'm never going to leave. I'm here, I'm here. It'll be all right. I love you. Forever and always. _

**Author's Note:**

I hope you guys liked it. It's a one shot, but if I get enough feedback, maybe I'll make it longer and include the funeral/burial/other character reactions/etc.

**So, review if you:**

**~Want me to continue writing**

**~Want to see something specific in the next chapter**

**~Think this is an awesome fic and you just liked it ;)**


End file.
